Nick Maclaren wrote:


In article et,
Sally Thompson writes:
|
| You'd be surprised (or perhaps you wouldn't) at the people who think that
| it's a hardship if there isn't a corner shop open 24 hours a day. We were
| once asked when the bus came, and said, truthfully, "next Friday" g. One
| of the great pleasures of living a bit out in the sticks is to see the stars
| against a velvety black sky, but some people are really lost without street
| lights, shops and public transport.

No, I am not :-( But, to regard the lack of such things (or the need
for a mere 30 minute trip to - heaven help me - a supermarket) as
"isolation"! I lived (briefly) at Mansa (then Fort Rosebery) in about
1950 - which was a little bit isolated, but not extremely so.

Sorry, Eddy, but we live on different planets! :-)

I think you may be right there, Nick! You're not a TopGear man, are
you, by any chance? :-) No, calm down, I didn't say "a petrol-head"!

| I don't personally consider it that isolated when we have electricity, phones
| and cars - but it's a sort of comfortable isolation. I don't knock it!

Isolation, it ain't, except for people with no access to private motor
transport! The word implies that you are functionally separated, and
there is no way that is so anywhere in England or even in the vast
majority of Scotland.

We and all our neighbours are isolated. When we use that word we don't
necessarily utter it with a whine! Isolation has its positive sides.
However, we have before lived bang-smack in the centre of cities, i.e. 1
minute down the stairwell to the Chinese takeaway, the stationer, the
dry-cleaner, M&S, cinemas, theatres, bookshops, whatever you want, and
so on and so on. Now that's NOT isolated. We've also lived on the
edge of Snowdonia, in wild West Wales, and THERE believe it or not we
were not as "isolated" from the above amenities, services, and pleasures
as we are now that we are back in England! That supermarket that is
30-minute drive away from this house, frankly it's crap. Horrible
bloody place. Don't be thinking I'm talking about your Sainsbury's,
Tescos, Morrison's or the like! They are much further afield!

Isn't it funny that some people only take on board new knowledge by
aggressively challenging that which they are unfamiliar with! There's
no need.

Eddy.